14KT laces together 14 instrumentals + 1 song with an incomparable ear
for flipping samples, and his signature boom-bap, off-kilter drum
programming and spacey synths. Then he enlists a handful of his favorite
artists for a vocal encore (including Blu, Black Milk and MED) +
appearances by Detroit's own JMSN on the summer cruiser Slo Swerve (also
featuring Jamall Bufford) and Cali's Kokane (along with MED) on the new
west coast anthem "W.C.E.F." 14KT even steps up to the microphone
himself on "Five & Ten" to paint a picture of his take on the
phrase, “Nickel & Dimed."

Kendall Tucker, aka 14KT, 1/7 of
Michigan’s mighty hip-hop group Athletic Mic League, released his debut
solo LP "The Golden Hour [Soundtrack]" in 2008 after a rich history with
AML. Despite being an instrumental album, The Golden Hour appeared on
many year-end “top albums” lists. Okayplayer said “this is the sort of
striking project that can single-handedly create an artists following.”
And so it did. 14KT has since released four solo albums, and is
preparing his new instrumental album "Nickel & Dimed" for an August
27th release on Mello Music Group. From the lean soaked swerve to
flamboyant west coast Errol Flynnin', the soulful synths and hard
hitting drums drive KT's most eclectic project to date.

Monday, 26 August 2013

(copied from Webpage)Oh No’s debut album for Now-Again Records
was also the first in Now-Again’s “music library” series, one of the
label’s most successful exercises in creating modern “library music” for
easy synchronization for film and TV. It also stood alone as an
instrumental album for this lauded producer.

For this entry, the seventh
Now-Again Music Library, Oh No combs through a now-much-more-vast
catalog from American soul, funk and jazz to Iranian folk to Zambian
hard rock. Fans of the variety of projects that Oh No is a part – from
his Gangrene project with Alchemist to his production for the likes of
Talib Kweli and Danny Brown – will be pleased with the variety of beats
contained within.

This album is 19 tracks,
running 40 minutes. As with all of Now-Again’s library releases, comes
as a limited edition is CD is packaged in a “mini-LP” thick cardboard
“tip-on” sleeve and is only available digitally at Now-Again’s
subscription service at http://drip.fm/nowagain

Multi-instrumentalist
Erik Nava is an electronic musician raised in Southern California. Beat
making came quickly for him after various forms of hip hop expression.
In 2001, Erik fully realized the ideas that broke away from traditional
loop and sample based beat music. The idea 12 years ago was to take
things a bit further: to make beats into real composed music by
utilizing live instruments played by himself. In essence, making beat
music that was more than something to layer vocals over. Erik made beats
music that stood on its own.

A big believer in crafting an original sound, Erik built song after
song, album after album, based on the belief that one day it could be a
genre. Unfortunately, the industry hadn’t carved out a niche for this
new kind of music in Erik’s early years, so he continued to release the
music independently, while slowly roping in fans worldwide.
Experimenting and pushing the envelope on what post-hip hop electronica
would sound like became an obsession.
Soon Erik found himself supporting his own endeavors as a professional
musician, still completely independent.

Thursday, 22 August 2013

I feel blessed to be able to listen to such Dream-masonry, Soundscapin' & Skewcarvin'. The blatant Melodic & harmonious Manipulation must be placed on a pedestal & as of this precise moment I'm Hard pressed between Afta-1, BMB Spacekid & This Manchester Resident; namely Mecca:83 as to whom I like most!

The names listed are for me (bar Afta-1, don't believe his involved in the scene like he was) the best in Hip-Hop production as I write. Flawless, Sound Quality, the ability to create from scratch (that means no samplin', I innerstand that hip-Hop was built from samples, but that clichéd saying has absolutely no relevance anymore, this ain't 1991), The ability to blend synthesis and samples (many try and fail miserably) and regardless of My particulars . . . . . . Just Sculpting this vibe, this sound . . . . Beautiful noise.

This is a label started by friends out of a college dorm.
Created by artists for artists, this isn’t too deep.
Our only goal is to share with you the things that move/inspire us.

Founded by Killa out of his college apartment known today as 44,
Keith saw the seeds planted early. During an internship at age 22 with
Stones Throw, two events shaped his outlook; hearing fellow intern
Flylo’s old jams and experiencing the death of his hero Jaydee. Soon
after immersing himself in the beatmusic coming out LA, he realized his
own music was potentially garbage. Saddened and slightly depressed, he
grew inspired from the emergence of collectives such as My Hollow Drum,
Wedidit, CMLK, etc…and decided “fuck it.”

He threw down all the change in his piggy bank and through deliberate
bribery/larceny and a series of elaborate hoaxes/cons he managed to
enlist the aid of those represented in our artist roster. Others say he
simply blew into his longhorn and they emerged one by one, from out of
the forest, all except for Juj, who flew in from the sky and somehow
submerged from the water. His only goal, if any, was to create
opportunities for his friends to enjoy their little silly, childlike
pursuits…all the the meanwhile completely abandoning ship to go off and
work at his fancy new job with the Portland Trailblazers. Leaving a lot
of the decision making up to two of the most infantile members of the
crew, we still don’t know how this all came together. Ask top to bottom,
nobody directly involved in this knows exactly how any of this shit
happened.

The focus obviously was and could only be the music, but what existed
now, in essence indirectly as a result of constant collaborations &
ideas bouncing between friends was this random grouping of talent and a
motherfucking chance to save lives. The backbone to all this was the
assurance between them that the focus could never be the money, not
because they don’t like money, but because its not really the hip thing
anymore, ya know? Young 20-somethings take on women, life, & feeling
(or lack thereof). With no real plan, these clueless assholes ventured
out into the sunset together and what you are witnessing now is their
incredible journey. This is something remarkable, truly life-altering,
poetic & original to be cherished and celebrated for generations to
come…